To deserve you
by Sarah d'Emeraude
Summary: Paul is hurt. Daryl is jealous, worried and insecure, while Alex is being an asshole. Thank god Aaron is here to save this entire situation.


**Sooo... here's another idea I started last week and finally finished. I can't stop writing lately, somebody help me.**

 **Also, I suck at summaries. Ugh. Anyway, I hope you'll like this! xx**

* * *

"I don't care who the fuck you are, I want you to leave this trailer now!"

Alex's shout reverberated inside the medical area, the harsh words making the few hurt people spread on the beds around wince in sympathy. Alex wasn't known to be the kind of guy to get angry (although he tended to be full of himself most of the time), but again, he never really had to deal with Daryl Dixon. And as patient as the nurse was when it came to medical situations, he couldn't act foolishly and let someone put his patient in danger. Even said patient's boyfriend.

The war with Negan was finally over. People had died, from both sides, but eventually their peace had been too precious to be abandoned. They had done it for Glenn, for Abraham, and for all the people they had lost along the way.  
Dwight now had full control over the saviors, under Rick's supervision, and Negan was rooting in a cell in Alexandria ad vitam aeternam. Daryl had decided to come live at the Hilltop a few months back, his unspoken attraction to Paul taking more and more place in his life. Now that he had lived through things that he would never forget, seen people get hurt around him and loved more than he had ever loved before the apocalypse, he couldn't keep ignoring his blossoming feelings for the young man.

Everything was fine, now. Time had passed, people had changed. Or some, at least. Paul and Daryl were a thing, it was official. Though many people had been surprised to hear that Daryl was indeed attracted to men, it never dulled the smiles he could see on his family's faces. And that was all that mattered.

Until now.

Paul had decided to go on a run by himself, because of course Paul was the kind of prick to do that. It was a quick thing, or so he had said. He just needed more diapers for baby Hershel, and for Gracie. And of course Daryl had trusted him, because Daryl always trusted Paul.

But Paul didn't come back. And Daryl had gone looking for him, only to find him hurt and bleeding out in an old and almost empty grocery store.

Daryl had lived through a few heavy things in his life. From his mother burning the trailer and killing herself in the process, to his violent father and without forgetting his drug addict brother, he had seen and heard things he sometime wished he could be able to forget. Although, when he had laid eyes on Paul's bloody form and thought, for a couple of seconds, that his lover was dead, he had never been more scared in his entire life.

He had taken Paul back to the Hilltop after checking for bites or scratches, and rushed to the medical trailer with his limp body in his arms. And there, the real problems had started.

Because of course doctor Carson was absent for the moment, and the only person able to help Paul was Alex, Paul's moody ex. He was a good nurse, that wasn't the problem. But Daryl couldn't help himself when the nurse had started caressing Paul's unconscious body to "control his reactions to his surroundings" or some shitty excuse Daryl didn't want to listen to.

So, of course he had snapped at the man. Pushing him away from Paul, threatening him to cut his hands if he ever touched Paul without his consent ever again. Reminding him that Paul wasn't his boyfriend anymore, and that he was the one the scout came home to.

Which led to the scream that shook the entire trailer.

Daryl took a step back, trying to hold back his anger. He knew that it wouldn't do him any good to jump on the guy and smash his head against the wall, but he really, really wanted to. He was vaguely aware that it might have been because of the situation, worrying about Paul's state pushing him to his limits, but Alex had never been someone he liked or even trusted. Sure, he was a good nurse. But he was also Paul's very (very) bitter ex, who wasn't over the scout more than a year and a half later. And no matter how much Daryl trusted Paul, he didn't trust Alex. And his lover was lying, unconscious, unable to do anything against Alex's touches.

"I'm not leaving this room" groaned Daryl, trying to hold back his anger by closing his trembling fists. "I'm not leaving you alone with him."

Alex had the indecency to smirk, looking way too amused by the situation.

"What, are you afraid he'll like it a little bit too much?"  
"I swear to god, if ya touch him again…" warned the hunter, shoving an accusing finger against Alex's chest.  
"I'm a nurse, you idiot! I need to touch him to cure him. Or do you want him to die because you're incapable of holding back your jealousy?"

The harsh words hit Daryl right in the chest, and he took a step back. He looked at Paul again, his chest rising up and down slowly, then back at Alex.

"You need to fix him." he simply said, his voice shaky and full of worry.

Alex snorted, walking up to the bed and putting the back of his right hand against Paul's forehead.

"Yeah, I know. I wish I could just do something without the angry redneck being a pain in my ass, though."

Daryl tried not to let the words hit him, but he swallowed nervously anyway. It had been a while since anyone had last reminded him of his status, of who he was before the outbreak. And he knew that Alex's words were meant to hurt, but he also knew how drastically different the two men were. Deep down, he had always been afraid of Paul realizing he was nothing compared to the people around him, compared to his ex boyfriend. And Alex knew that, too. Daryl wasn't insecure about a lot of things; after all he know how good of a hunter he was and how he'd do anything for his family no question asked. But somehow, Paul was always his weakness. And ever since they had kissed for the first time, he had often thought that Paul would just walk out the door without a look back one day, realizing that his life would eventually be better without him in it.

Alex got back to examining Paul, under Daryl's worried eyes. He let his hands roam on Paul's chest, probing his stomach and cleaning the wound with attention. The bleeding had stopped, and the wound didn't look that bad now. Alex's face was relaxed when he applied the bandage, and Daryl took that as a good sign.

"I was serious, when I asked you to leave" he said after a while, glancing at Daryl over Paul's body. "I don't want you here."  
"I'm Paul's boyfriend" Daryl groaned, shaking his head. "I have the right to be here."  
"Would you stop it for a minute with the whole jealous boyfriend thing? Or maybe you're afraid he'll wake up under my touches and realize I'm a much better person that you are, and way more able to take care of him as well?"

At this moment, Daryl had two options. He could either hit Alex, and prevent him from taking care of Paul's wounds, or leave. He chose the second option, ducking his head and leaving the trailer without looking back, his heart sinking and aching in his chest.

—

"Daryl? What are you doing here, I thought you were with Paul? How is he, is he okay now?"

The hunter was startled by Aaron's entrance, a pretty rare thing since he was always on his guard, his instincts never letting him rest completely. Since he had left the medical trailer, he was wandering around his and Paul's smaller one, without purpose other than change his mind. Which, of course, didn't work at all. He had cleaned the entire trailer, made the bed, prepared something to eat for Paul's return almost by automatism and let it cool off on the table, its scent filling the small restricted space.

He didn't even hear the door open and close, nor did he noticed Gracie at first, who was babbling joyfully in her adoptive father's arms. His breath got caught in his throat when the little girl beamed at him, holding out her arms with a toothless smile. Somehow, in this fucked up world, Daryl Dixon had discovered that babies liked him (and that he really, really liked them back). But he was in no mood for giggles and cuddles, and he turned his gaze away from the little girl to stare at the floor stubbornly.

"Alex asked me to leave the trailer" he replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Aaron sat on the bed carefully, laying Gracie down on it and handing her a small plushy toy that Paul had found on a run for her. The painful reminder of the scout's usually perfect abilities took Daryl back to his current position, and he swallowed nervously. The ache in his chest was still there, he didn't know how to ease it, and he hated it.

"Alex… Asked you to leave the trailer?" repeated Aaron.

His tone was flat but not judgmental, although the disbelief was clear in his question. Outside, the faint sound of a few children laughing while playing was the only thing troubling the silence that was stretching between the two tall men.

"Told me I was getting in the way." shrugged Daryl, swallowing back the painful lump in his throat. "So I left. I didn't want… I want Paul to be okay. I can't do much good there. I know that."

Aaron's tongue clicked against the inside of his mouth, and he stared at the side of Daryl's face, looking annoyed.

"Aaaaaand you're standing here, alone and miserable, while that shithead is fixing him? I don't buy it. Who are you and what have you done to Daryl Dixon?"

The hunter knew that his friend didn't mean it the hard way, but he still blinked away the anger pooling inside of him at these words. The knot in his chest tightened, his breath shortening and his eyes filling with unleashed tears. He felt like a fool, mostly because of Alex, but also because he was now crying like a baby in front of his friend. Said friend who had lost his husband during the war against Negan, and was way more miserable than he ever could be.

"Daryl… what happened?"

His friend got up after securing Gracie between a couple of pillow and walked to his friend, face twisted with worry. He knew that Daryl wasn't one to show his emotions, or at least easily, and he found himself completely lost with his reaction.

"I don't think I'm good enough for Paul" the hunter finally blurted out.  
"What? What the hell makes you think that?"  
"I'm just a redneck trash" Daryl kept going, ignoring his friend, staring at the floor. "Paul deserves more, and I know it, I've always know, but I just… I hoped, you know? For a moment, I hoped it could all work out. But I know it won't, and I was a fool to believe it ever could."  
"Daryl, stop this."

Aaron's voice was firm, and despite himself, Daryl looked up at his friend. He looked angry, his soft face twisted with a scowl and his jaw screwed shut in worry.

"Don't you dare say that about yourself, you hear me?"  
"But it's true" repeated Daryl, defeated. "I'm not just saying things, ya know? I'm telling the truth. I'm telling you what I've heard before, and will hear again. Paul deserves better than than, better than me. And we all know it."

A muscle in Aaron's neck twitched. Daryl let his eyes fall on that spot, and swallowed against the knot in his throat.

"And what makes you think you can take that decision for him?"

He didn't let Daryl the chance to reply anything, opening his mouth to speak again.

"We all learned to know you, Daryl. All your family, the people in Alexandria, the ones here and at the Kingdom, we all know who you truly are. And we know that you have a heart of gold and that you are worth so much more than you will probably ever believe. So don't you dare speak in our name when bringing yourself down like this. You are our brother, or anchor just as much as Rick, and Paul loves you because he knows all of this and believes in your love story. So you have no right to decide this, to decide to leave him when he's out there fighting for his life and believing in your story."

He stopped, taking a deep breath and blinking away a few tears that had fallen from his eyes sheepishly.

"I miss Eric so much, you wouldn't believe it" he whispered, shaking his head. "And I cannot imagine how much it would have hurt me if he had suddenly decided that he wasn't good enough for me, when he meant the world to me."  
"Aaron…"  
"Let me finish, please."

He sat by the edge of the living room's table, facing Daryl. The hunter swallowed, nervous, and Aaron smiled.

"A relationship is about two people, not just one" he explained, shrugging. "Just like you can't decide what Paul wants, Paul cannot decide what you want. It's about trust, it's about love and most of all it's about communication. I'm not an expert, far form that. Eric and I, we used to fight sometimes, like everyone else. But I've been married for seven years, and trust me, you can't keep a good and strong relationship without these three elements."  
"But I trust Paul" replied the hunter, confused. "I'd trust him with my life."  
"Then trust him with your feelings, too."

His words were followed by a pregnant pause, Daryl's throat clicking when he swallowed being the only thing that really disturbed the peace of the trailer. Gracie had fallen asleep long ago, they didn't really know when.

"I should get her to sleep" finally whispered Aaron, putting a hand on Daryl's shoulder and squeezing lightly. "Are you going to be okay?"  
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

Aaron stared at him for a couple of seconds, before nodding.

"Please think about what I've just told you, okay? He's gonna need you when he wakes up."  
"Yeah, I will."

—

Daryl was trying to fall asleep when he heard the bedroom door open slightly. He jumped on his feet, grabbing his crossbow and aiming it at the door, blinking the sleep away from his tired eyes.

"If you could just wait until I fully healed from this wound before creating new ones, I would be extremely grateful."

At the sound of his lover's voice, Daryl lowered his weapon as quickly as he had aimed it. He let it drop on the floor without a single glance back, running to the door to open it fully.

"Paul? What are ya doing here you prick?" he all but yelled, taking in the sight of his flushed lover.

Paul looked good. He was a little pale, and his hand against the door frame was supporting him, but he mostly looked good for someone who had fainted a few hours ago.

"I'm glad to see you too, baby" replied the scout with a smirk, his baby blue eyes finding Daryl's.  
"Come on, get on the bed, yer gonna fall."

He helped him to the bed and laid him down, pushing a pillow under his head and taking care of his boots and pants.

"If I had known that I needed to hurt myself to be put into bed with you, I would have done that sooner" teased Paul, his eyes staring at Daryl.  
"Shut up, prick."

He finally laid down next to his lover, arranging the covers on both of them.

"What are ya doing here anyway? You shouldn't have moved from the medical trailer."  
"Well, I woke up alone in said medical trailer" began Paul, his hand reaching for Daryl's cheek. "And I desperately needed to see you. Plus, I'm okay. I promise. I made sure everything was fine before leaving the trailer, and I just need to take it easy for a while."

Daryl looked away, ashamed. He could feel his heart starting to race, thumping against his tightening chest.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there."  
"It's not your fault" replied Paul as soon as the words had left his mouth. "An old lady was there, in the bed next to mine. She told me everything that happened when I was asleep."

He let his words hang in the air, and Daryl felt his chest tightening. Was Paul mad with him? Should he have stayed anyway? He had tried to avoid a conflict with Alex because he knew that he was much needed in the community, but maybe it wasn't the smartest move. Maybe Paul was hurt that he hadn't stayed anyway, and it was his goddamn fault.

"Daryl, look at me" whispered the scout, pushing two fingers under Daryl's chin.  
"I'm sorry" blurted the hunter again. "I should have stayed, I know I should have stayed, but…"  
"I hit Alex."  
"You… what?"

He straightened his back, pushing his upper body on his right elbow to look at his lover and catch his eyes.

"You kicked Alex? Why?"  
"Because of what he said to you" explained Paul, frowning. "Why do you sound so surprised?"  
"It's just…"

He blinked, finding it very hard to find the right words. He wanted to kiss Paul silly for his action, but he also wanted to reprehend him in the other hand.

"But he cured you" he finally said. "He saved your life."  
"That doesn't mean that he can talk to you like that. Or throw you out of the trailer. Or be an ass when I wake up."

Daryl felt a growl reverberate through his chest.

"What did he say to you?"  
"Nothing really important. He was mostly trying to make me change my mind about our break up, and after learning what he did to you… Well, I might have kicked him in the face."  
"Oh my god."  
"Well, you can call me Jesus you know."

This time, Daryl couldn't help but roll his eyes, nudging Paul on the shoulder.

"You're an ass."  
"But I'm your ass."  
"Damn right you are."

He laid back against Paul, minding his injured side while doing so. Their fingers intwined under the covers, and Daryl kissed Paul's temple gently. The young man sighed with content, relaxing back in the embrace and the feeling of Daryl's strong body against his.

"You know, I wish I could have seen that" finally whispered Daryl, his nose buried in Paul's hair, dozing off slowly but surely.

The scout chuckled, bringing Daryl's hand to his lips to kiss it.

"I bet you do, baby. I bet you do."


End file.
